Was Wilanda Downs a forestry right or a purchase?

The Flat Rock Forests Trust annual return for 31 March 94 said the trust secured the cutting rights to 58 ha of mature forest at Wilanda Downs.  Income was forecast in the 94 - 95 year.  (Page 10 of the same report said the cutting right was 51.8 ha.)  The 95 annual return said the cutting right had been put out to tender in November 94, but there had been no acceptable response.  The annual return for 96 said the forest had suffered wind damage, and that area had now been harvested.

The 97 sales brochure said this forestry right was for only 46.4 ha (presumably less the supposedly wind-damage harvest).  The full PriceWaterhouse review said this forest was established 1970 - 79, all thinned, some pruned, and said it was to be harvested 1999 - 2000.  They said it was remote and lacked “management attention.”  Yet this forestry right (that Forme said in March 97 was worth $589,000) was said to have been bought for $1,441,000.  (The public records tell a somewhat different story.)

The full PW review projects a sizeable loss to the Trust for its investments in Shannon, Aokautere, and Wilanda.  Waimea Holdings was a company wholly owned by AMP Perpetual Trust specifically for the purpose of holding assets for FRFT.  In the Waimea file is a mortgage with Countrywide dated 22/4/94 for a forestry right in gross over land comprised in Certificates of Title (CTs) 129/159 (737.2233 ha), 129/161 (571.9776 ha), 138/64 (23.4364 ha), and 7C/879 (175.5855 ha).  It is subject to a profit a prendre to Pinenz, whose registered address in 1994 was that of NZEB.

Terranet records for parcel 7C/879 shows this 175.5855 ha parcel transferred to Carrow Enterprises on 26 April 94 for $1,480,000.  It was mortgaged to Countrywide the same day.  On 25 May 94, a profit a prendre in gross granted over the land (filed by M Stead at Rudd Watts and Stone) posted to Pinenz for all 1507.6373 ha.  (The Pinenz file shows this to have been executed 17 December 93.)  It was subject to a mortgage to the Primary Industry Bank of Australia Limited.  An SPP posted the same day to Tasman Forestry.  Two Pinenz agreements for the full 1500+ ha posted as well.

On 17 June 94, a transfer and mortgage posted.  No details about these transactions are shown in the Terranet file.  On 11 July 94, a transfer to Waimea Holdings posted for $1,362,262.  The same day, a mortgage to Countrywide for advances posted.  On 18 April 96 a mortgage posted for advances on the land between Pinenz and National Bank.  This parcel number stayed the same, but the other three parcel numbers changed to 10D/551, 10D/552, and 10D/553.  Upon close inspection, it appears that these are the original three parcels, merely with new Certificate of Title numbers — the hectares stayed the same.

On 17 July 97, a discharge for the 26 April 94 Countrywide mortgage posted.  The same day, a mortgage to BNZ for advances posted.  This brought the apparent total of outstanding mortgages on this parcel to four — through four different banks.

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